Common Internet Explorer Attributes Reference
Microsoft introduced a number of new proprietary attributes with the Internet Explorer 4, 5, 5.5, and 6 browsers. These are summarized here to avoid redundancy.
- accesskey
- Microsoft applied this W3C attribute to a wider variety of elements with the advent of its IE 5.5 browser. The accesskey attribute specifies a keyboard navigation accelerator for the element. Pressing ALT or a similar key (depending on the browser and operating system) in association with the specified key selects the anchor element correlated with that key.
- contenteditable
- This proprietary Microsoft attribute allows users to edit content rendered in Internet Explorer 5.5 or greater. Values are false, true, and inherit. A value of false will prevent content from being edited by users; true will allow editing. The default value, inherit, applies the value of the affected element's parent element.
- disabled
- Again, Microsoft has applied an existing W3C attribute to a range of elements not associated with it in the W3C specifications. Elements with the disabled attribute set may appear faded and will not respond to user input. Values under the Microsoft implementation are false and true. The default value is true, so IE 5.5 and higher will read disabled as "on," even without a value set for the attribute.
- hidefocus
- This proprietary attribute, introduced with Internet Explorer 5.5, hides focus on an element's content. Focus must be applied to the element using the tabindex attribute.
- language
- In the Microsoft implementation, this attribute specifies the scripting language to be used with an associated script bound to the element, typically through an event handler attribute. Possible values might include javascript, jscript, vbs, and vbscript. Other values that include the version of the language used, such as JavaScript1.1, might also be possible.
- tabindex
- This attribute uses a number to identify the object's position in the tabbing order for keyboard navigation using the TAB key. While tabindex is defined for some elements as part of W3C standards, IE 5.5 added support for this attribute to a wider range of elements. Under IE 5.5 or better, this focus can be disabled with the hidefocus attribute.
- unselectable
- This proprietary Microsoft element can be used to prevent content displayed in Internet Explorer 5.5 from being selected. Testing suggests that this might not work consistently. Values are off (selection permitted) and on (selection not allowed).
